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The influence of grandparents’ social class on children’s aspirations

Bibliographic Data

ID11166386
AuthorsVanessa Moulton (0000-0002-7400-2522, University College London, corresponding author), Eirini Flouri (0000-0001-6207-4847, University College London), Heather Joshi (0000-0002-0708-6367, University College London), Alice Sullivan (0000-0002-0690-8728, University College London)
Year2017
Volume38
Issue4
Pages500-517
Publication date2017-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01425692.2015.1093407
OpenAlexW2154522183
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited44

Social class mobility from grandparent to grandchild is a relatively neglected topic. Grandparents today are often healthier and more active, and have longer relationships with their grandchildren than in previous generations. We used data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (n = 8570) to investigate the influence of maternal and paternal grandparents’ social class on the aspirations of children at age seven. Using path analysis and controlling for family income, mother’s and father’s education, lone motherhood, and child’s ethnicity and gender, we found very small direct effects from the paternal grandmother’s social class to the grandchild’s classed aspirations, and small, indirect effects, via parents’ class, of grandparents’ class on child’s classed aspirations. Multi-group analyses found few differences by ethnicity and gender. There was no evidence that, at this age, mixed-class parentage raises the aspirations of working-class children (the ‘sunken middle-class’ hypothesis)

Class (philosophy · Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Grandchild · Grandparent · Political science · Social class · Social mobility · Social science · Sociology · Birth, Development, and Health · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology

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Unique citing works5
Citations per year0,5
Citation span2016 - 2024 (9)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 5
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